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Diabetes educator organization rebrands with new name: ADCES
The former American Association of Diabetes Educators is now the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists, or ADCES, part of a larger rebranding effort that includes new names for the specialty title and credentials for diabetes educators, according to an association press release.
The rebranding reflects the association’s shift from referencing the specialty title as “diabetes educator” to the more comprehensive “diabetes care and education specialist,” according to the release. The new title “more accurately signifies the range of expertise diabetes care and education specialists provide to people with diabetes, prediabetes and cardiometabolic conditions, the health care system, payers and providers.”
“The ADCES name and specialty title integrate clinical management and expertise, which are very important aspects of our work that weren’t reflected in the title ‘diabetes educator,’” Kellie Antinori-Lent, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, BC-ADM, CDCES, FAADE, 2020 president of ADCES, said in the release. “Our new name will help raise awareness among those who benefit from our services as well as those who are in a position to increase the utilization of diabetes education, so we can build a landscape that helps individuals achieve optimal clinical and quality of life outcomes.”
As Healio previously reported, the ADCES board worked with a professional research firm and conducted numerous surveys to identify a title that would “describe our true collaborative and holistic process” and position diabetes educators as leaders in the diabetes care team, according to Karen Kemmis, PT, RN, DPT, MS, CDCES, FAADE, who oversaw the repositioning process as the 2019 AADE president. The new name, she said, better reflects members’ expertise, emphasis on collaboration, comprehensive care, outcomes-oriented approach and forward-thinking nature.
“We knew that the words ‘diabetes’ and ‘educator’ should continue to be a part of our title,” Kemmis said at the association’s 2019 annual conference in Houston, where a name change was first announced. “To better reflect that with all we do, with our expertise, we found that we needed to add the words ‘care’ and ‘specialist.’
The name change is part of the organization’s Project Vision. Through six Project Vision “pillars,” ADCES aims to drive better outcomes for people with diabetes by integrating diabetes clinical management, education, prevention and support, Kemmis said.
Diabetes self-management training is a benefit covered by Medicare and most health plans when provided by a diabetes educator within an accredited or recognized program. Yet fewer than 5% of Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes and 6.8% of privately insured people with diabetes in the United States participate in diabetes self-management education and support, or DSMES, services within the first year of diagnosis, according to the CDC.
“Our goal is to connect more people with diabetes to diabetes care and education specialists,” Kemmis said in the release. “The name change is a necessary step as we look to move the trajectory of the specialty into the future. The long-term solution to increased utilization will require continued input from legislative, association and advocacy partners.”
In December, the National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators (NCBDE) announced that it was changing its credential from certified diabetes educator (CDE) to certified diabetes care and education specialist (CDCES) and transitioning to a new name — the Certification Board for Diabetes Care and Education — throughout 2020. Those who currently hold the CDE credential will not have to retake the exam. When CDEs renew beginning in 2020, new certificates and wallet cards will use the CDCES designation.
“The NCBDE board of directors believes that changing the name of the certification credential best reflects the current designation and the future of the specialty,” the certification board stated in its release.
For more information on the rebranding of the association, visit www.diabeteseducator.org/ADCES. – by Regina Schaffer
Disclosures: Antinori-Lent is 2020 president of ADCES. Kemmis is 2019 president of ADCES.